11 August 2011

The Book: Last month on an Imprint Friday I featured the Amy Einhorn book Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan. I so loved the audio of Dolan's first David Loogan novel, I had to listen to the audio of Very Bad Men too.

Here are the elements: a bank robbery that took place 20 years ago, the mentally unstable Anthony Lark, a killing spree, a news reporter, a senator, a senator wannabe, a kidnapping, a few road trips, and Loogan and his mystery magazine Gray Streets.

The problem is, Loogan isn't quite sure how all these elements come together to make a coherent whole. And the longer it takes him to figure things out, the more chance there is for very bad men to do very bad things.

I can't imagine a better narrator for the Loogan series than Erik Davies. His inflections and pacing perfectly match Dolan's writing style, making it difficult to turn off the mp3 player. Even if you've already read Dolan's novel, follow my lead and do a reread via audio--it's one of the best ways to experience the crazy, dark ride that is Loogan's life.

The Tea: Despite the cooler weather, I'm still on iced tea here. This week I made my sun tea with Celestial Seasoning's Bengal Spice tea. This is pretty much the only herbal tea I drink, and I really love it. Here's the description: "Brimming with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves, a cup of our aromatic Bengal Spice tea is like a trip to an exotic spice market in a faraway land. This adventurous blend is our caffeine-free interpretation of Chai, a piquant Indian brew traditionally made with black tea."

The Assessment: Sorry, this match-up was a total fail! There is no way Loogan is drinking iced herbal Chai tea. Really. Now if I had poured some scotch or a beer into my mug, I bet Loogan wouldn't hesitate to join me.

What About You? Have you discovered a good tea or even a new wine this week? What are you reading or listening to?

13
comments:

I've been looking for Safari Red tea since my cousin went to Africa and tried the original version. She said it's available in this country as Safari Red but so far I haven't been able to find it. Have you seen it anywhere? It's supposed to calm anxiety; she swears it works and tastes wonderful.

The tea you highlighted sounds delicious. I found two new wines this week, one I was less-than-enthusiastic about and another is yet to be tried. HOWEVER, last week I had a delicious Rose. Here's my review of it! Hedonist Rose Review

Sounds like this book calls for something a bit stronger and masculine...like whisky. I have the first book in print, but now you have me thinking I need to track down the audio (maybe I already looked?). Love AE.

I just finished reading this one -- my review is going up tomorrow. I loved it. I listened to the audio of the first one, which I thought was great, but I liked this one even better. I was completely absorbed by it.

Hmmmm . . . I am going to go investigate this tea/book/Thursday thing. This is the first I've stumbled on it.

Obviously, my brain is in la-la land this week. Now that I've found the Comments section, I shall leave one:I'll have a good time asking my grocer, "I'm looking for a little cup of Bengal Spice, you got some?" Since it's sans caffeine maybe it DOES beg for a little lift. A splash of spicy rum?BTW, you're kind of making me fall in love with Amy Einhorn... and I'm not even in her imprint. So marketing-wise, that's probably counterproductive. Oh well! ;)

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I'm a freelance book editor, reviewer, and journalist blogging as Beth Fish. On these pages, you'll find book reviews, book features, and other bookish content. I like to spotlight my favorite imprints and I'm a long-time audiobook lover. (I was the Audio Publishers Association's 2016 Audiobook Blogger of the Year!) Each Saturday I host my popular Weekend Cooking feature. Don't forget to look for my weekly photograph. You can find me on social media as @BethFishReads. Publicists, publishers, authors: please see my review policy. NB: I did not work on any book mentioned on this site.

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